The Fifty-Year Wound - by Derek Leebaert (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The Fifty-Year Wound is the first cohesively integrated history of the Cold War, one replete with important lessons for today. Drawing upon literature, strategy, biography, and economics -- plus an inside perspective from the intelligence community -- Derek Leebaert explores what Americans sacrificed at the same time that they achieved the longest great-power peace since Rome fell. Why did they commit so much in wealth and opportunity with so little sustained complaint? Why did the conflict drag on for decades? What did the Cold War do to the country, and how? What was lost while victory was gained? Leebaert has uncovered an astonishing array of never-published documents and information, including major revelations about American covert operations and Soviet military activities. He has found, in the shadows of one of this century's great, epic stories, the sort of details and explanations that hit with the force of a lightning bolt and will change forever the way we think about our past.

Review Quotes

"A splendid book.... At a moment when the CIA has attained new importance, funds, and powers, Leebaert provides sound reasons for skepticism about its ability to fight terrorism."

"Necessary reading in the current climate of national crisis and global terrorism, not only becaus we are still struggling to control the fallout of our Cold War global adventures in places like Afghanistan and Iraq but also because a closer look at the era may just help us to heal America's 50-year wound rather than allow it to fester for another half-century."

"THE FIFTY-YEAR WOUND did what the experts and the usual suspects of left and right most feared--bypassed their dreary symbiotic bickering, told the story in all its aspects, and set the standard by which future efforts must be judged.... Mr. Leebaert's a master stylist with a superb eye for the singular fact or vignette that simultaneously focuses, entertains, and persuades."